Action Alerts

Posted
on January 07, 2019

With every new Congress, the House and the Senate set their biggest priorities for their terms in the very first bills they introduce. Typically, these priorities focus on fundamental American interests. But this year’s first Senate bill, S1, takes aim at the First Amendment in an effort to shield Israel and its illegal settlements from American human rights activism that takes the form of boycotts.

Posted
on December 05, 2018

Reports have surfaced that lawmakers plan to hide two controversial bills in large omnibus packages for passage before the next Congress is sworn in.Some pro-Israel groups have been trying to push legislation like the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and the so-called Anti-Semitism Awareness Act in Congress for years, but they failed each time because these bills violate our First Amendment by seeking to shield Israel from criticism at the expense of our free speech rights. Now, in a desperate act, some are trying to hide these acts in large, end-of-year spending bills.This is unacceptable. Tell Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate...

Posted
on July 31, 2018

The Census Bureau has come under fire for several issues that can negatively impact an accurate count on the upcoming 2020 census. The Census Bureau must ensure an accurate count which is why we have advocated for adding a Middle Eastern North African ethnic category to the questionnaire for over three years. Decades of research done by the Bureau itself has showed that adding a MENA category by way of a new combined question format would be beneficial in providing a more accurate population count. All this data and research were disregarded under the context that the Bureau did...

Posted
on June 07, 2018

The Senate will vote on the confirmation of Kenneth Marcus today at 12:30pm. Marcus has been nominated for the position of Assistant Secretary of the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education.

His appointment would be a huge setback for civil rights protections in our academic environment. Marcus has been a longtime advocate for the adoption of an overly-broad, political definition of anti-Semitism, which includes criticism of the state of Israel. This is just one of the many ways his appointment would undermine civil rights protections in academia. See our letter for more details.

Posted
on May 23, 2018

A bicameral bill was introduced in the House and Senate that seeks to restrict criticism of Israel at the expense of our First Amendment protected right to free speech. Introduced in the House as H.R.5924 by Representatives Peter J. Roskam (R-IL), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Doug Collins (R-GA), and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and in the Senate as S.2940 by Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Bob Casey (D-PA), the legislation includes an overly broad, political definition of anti-Semitism, which includes criticism of the state of Israel.

Entitled the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2018, the bill does not actually...

Posted
on December 08, 2017

This week, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a hearing for nominees to serve in the Departments of Labor & Education, including Kenneth Marcus, nominee to lead the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department of Education.

As our political environment has seen an increase in racist, anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, anti-immigrant, anti-women, and anti-LGBTQ incidents, the OCR needs a director that can address these concerns without bias and with equal application of civil rights protections for all. Kenneth Marcus fails to meet this standard....

Posted
on November 21, 2017

The Trump Administration is threatening to shut down the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) General Delegation office in Washington, DC, in the false premise that the Palestinians are making unilateral moves that undermine the possibility of peace. In reality, it’s Israel, through continued occupation and expansion of settlements, that is undermining the possibility of peace. Tell Congress that the attack on the Palestinian diplomatic mission in the US is misguided.

Posted
on November 19, 2017

This week, Congresswoman Betty McCollum introduced HR 4391, the Promoting Human Rights by Ending Israeli Military Detention of Palestinian Children Act. This bill aims to prevent US aid to Israel from supporting the detention and ill-treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli military prison. Please take a few moments to urge your Representative to support this important human rights bill.

Posted
on November 16, 2017

On December 12th, AAI will host a screening of ‘Open Bethlehem,’ a film that aims to bring the story of Bethlehem to millions around the world, including the reality of living under Israeli military occupation. Urge your senators and your representative to attend the screening on Capitol Hill, and the following discussion featuring a resident of the city.

Posted
on November 08, 2017

On December 12th, AAI will host a screening of ‘Open Bethlehem,’ a film that aims to bring the story of Bethlehem to millions around the world, including the reality of Bethlehem's Christian Community and the challenges they face to stay in their hometown. Urge your senators and your representative to attend the screening on Capitol Hill, and the following discussion featuring a resident of the city. Leila Sansour, a filmmaker who comes from one of the oldest Christian families in Bethlehem will be sharing her film as well as her experiences documenting the events of the last decade in Bethlehem...